Job Search Articles

Network with Abby

Kudos

"Abby speaks on topics that she is extremely knowledgeable and passionate about which truly shines through. I enjoy the way that she engages the audience resulting in presentations that impart a tremendous amount of golden nuggets to the audience."

People typically hire people they like and people that are interesting to them.

In 1993 I was the esteemed Long Island Women’s Table Tennis Champ. Okay so I didn’t have to beat as many women as the guy who won the men’s title, but stick with me here.

In 1994 I discovered that I was tired of sales and ready to make a career change to human resources. I faxed about 10 resumes in response to the NY Times ads I found (for those of you Gen-Y-ers, a fax machine is a telecommunications device used to transfer facsimiles of documents over the telephone network). Anywho…I ended up getting called by the head of Human Resources for one of the 10 companies that I responded to. The person who hired me said that he decided to call me, despite the fact that I had very little experience, because he wanted to meet the woman crowned Table Tennis Champ. True story, I promise.

So, if you have any interesting hobbies that you think are not all that important, think again, and then list them on your resume. Avoid things like bug collecting or cabbage patch doll hairstyling or frog dissecting for obvious reasons. Think twice about hobbies that indicate your religious, sports or political affiliations because they may encourage a hiring manager to move to the next candidate if they have an opposing opinion. Avoid putting sentences such as this one in your cover letter, “In my spare time between campaigning for Dan Quayle, I helped get my Catholic Church Yankee tickets.

Absolutely Abby’s Advice:Remember, as interesting or as boring as you think you are, someone else always has the opposite opinion.

Tired of all the rejection? If you're interested in learning the Absolute truth about why you're struggling, sign up for a one hour "Capture a Recruiter" phone session today. Reach out to me today with any questions and for an absolutely amazing discount coupon!

Drawn from my 18 years of experience and research in recruiting and Human Resources, my blog posts are intended to provide insight into what corporate recruiters and Human Resource professionals look for when they are evaluating your qualifications. Simply reading these blogs will not guarantee you success. However, consistently applying the strategies mentioned, as well as developing your own personal interview style, will greatly enhance your chances of victory amidst the competition. I wish you the best of luck with your search as you begin to take charge of your career!